On this day in 1995: Zimbabwe beat Pakistan to record maiden Test win

It was on this day in 1995 that Zimbabwe created history with their first Test victory. Pakistan toured Zimbabwe for a three-match Test series in February 1995 and the host team won their first match of the Test series, registering their first win since becoming a Test nation. The first Test was held in Zimbabwe’s capital Harare. Under the captaincy of Andy Flower, Zimbabwe won the toss and elected to bat first. The match began with Pakistan pacers Aqib Javed and Wasim Akram dismissing batters Mark Dekker, Dave Houghton and Alistair Campbell with just 42 on the board. However, the Flowers, Grand and Andy, got together, steadied the ship and built a formidable partnership to pull Zimbabwe out of trouble and put them into ascendency. The due were unstoppable as they piled on runs and added a 269-run stand. Andy departed for 156. However, the Pakistan bowlers found no relief as Grant was now joined in by all-rounder Guy Whittall who also scored a century (113). Grant hit a splendid 201 and Zimbabwe declared its highest Test total at 544 for four. Pakistan, on the other hand, could only muster 322 with Inzamam-ul-Haq being the highest run scorer for his team with 71, followed by Ijaz Ahmed who made 65. Pacer Heath Streak was the wrecker in chief as he picked up six wickets. Zimbabwe enforced the follow-on. In the second innings, new ball bowlers Streak and David Brain wreaked havoc to topple Pakistan’s top order as they were reduced for 35/5. Inzamam-ul-Haq was again the lone fighter as he scored 65. Rashid Latif provided some resistance with 38 but Zimbabwe were too strong and bundled Pakistan for 158. Andy Flower and Grant Flower were declared joint Man of the Match and with this victory, Zimbabwe registered themselves in the pages of history by winning its maiden Test match in style with a dominant win. The earlier performances of Zimbabwe in Test cricket were nothing to write home about and despite being a Test playing nation since the year 1992, the team had struggled to earn its first Test win. Nevertheless, with this splendid victory, Zimbabwe proved that they had improved significantly in the international arena.